“Wait a moment,” he said in his most commanding voice. He studied himself in the mirror. His costume was crumpled, his features pale, but there was no sign of the shame he expected to be visible there. He had half expected the mark of it to be branded on his brow but he looked completely normal.
“Come on, Sardec, open up” The voice belonged to Paulus, and the tone Sardec thought was unduly familiar. Of course, he realised Paulus was going to be that way from now on. He had knowledge of Sardec’s weakness and it bound them now.
Sardec threw open the door. Paulus, dressed in his costume britches and a shirt, his weapons were strapped on, stood there.
“What’s the hurry?” Sardec asked as languidly as he could.
“You’ve slept well,” said Paulus.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s long past midday. Your little romp last night must really have taken it out of you. Still, these human girls are insatiable, aren’t they? We were surprised when we found you had gone off on your own. We didn’t think you would have had the strength.”
Sardec just looked at him, knowing he was going to have to get used to this jocularity but not liking it one little bit. Another thought hit him; it was past mid-day. He had duties, there were men to supervise, it was time to get back.
“The Colonel wants to speak to you,” said Paulus, almost as an afterthought.
“What about?”
“He didn’t say, but I think something has come up. There’s a messenger down below from the Redoubt.”
“Maybe I should get into uniform first.”
“I would hurry if I was you. He said it was urgent.”
Sardec took a seat in front of the Colonel’s desk. This time it was just the two of them, no clerks, no servants. The paperwork was neatly stacked away.
“I have just received a message from the Lady Asea,” said Xeno. “You and your men are to be prepared to leave from her palace tomorrow at dawn. You are going back to the mountains.”
“Very good, sir.”
“You may take as many wyrms as necessary and you should be prepared to investigate the mine. Requisition what you need. I will approve it.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“And Lieutenant Sardec…”
“Yes, sir.”
“Be very wary of the Lady Asea.”
“Sir?”
“She is a very deep Scarlet, Lieutenant.”
“I never knew that was a crime, sir.”
“Let us just say it is less fashionable now than it once was. The Queen is no longer an impressionable young woman. The complexion of the court is changing. The Greens have more influence these days.”
Sardec could see where this was going. “That is hardly a matter of life or death, sir.”
“Don’t be so naive, Lieutenant. We both know influence is the currency of our class. Humans commit crimes for money. Terrarchs commit crimes for power.”
“I am aware of the saying, sir. I do not see the connection with Lady Asea.”
“There is something going on here, Lieutenant. I am not sure what, but I would be willing to bet that whatever it is, it is connected with some Scarlet scheme to worm their way back into the Queen’s favour.”
“I am not sure I follow you, sir.”
“You want me to be more specific.”
“That might prove felicitous, sir.”
“She seems very keen to poke her nose into this business at Achenar.”
“Sir?”
“I would like to know why.”
“Would it be naive of me to suggest that you ask her, sir?”
“And she would tell me, of course.”
“You think she may be up to something sinister, sir.”
“I would not like to take that chance. Keep a very close eye on her, Lieutenant.”
“And should her motives prove to be…sinister, sir?”
“Just keep a close watch on her. If she finds anything that might be valuable, report it.”
Sardec could not but feel that he was being asked to do something dishonourable, spying on a Lady of the First.
“And don’t let anything happen to her, Lieutenant. Scarlet or not, none of us would look very good if something were to befall a Lady of her eminence.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, sir.”
“Very good, Lieutenant. You look quite tired. I think you’d best get some sleep tonight. You have an early start tomorrow if you are going to be at the Lady’s mansion by dawn. It would not do to be late for such an appointment.”
Xeno gave Sardec a smirk that let the Lieutenant know that he knew exactly what Sardec had been up to last night.
“This cannot be true,” said the Barbarian.
“Unfortunately, it is,” said Sergeant Hef, glancing around the inside of Mama Horne’s with some distaste. From his prim appearance, you would have thought he had never been inside such a place before. Rik shoved the new girl, Eva, from his knee, and was pleased by the look of daggers Rena shot him across the room. He was showing her, he thought.
“We’re to assemble back at the camp right away,” said Leon. “But we have a written authorisation from the Quartermaster valid for…”
“Take it up with the Colonel,” said Hef. “I am sure he will be delighted to explain his decision to you.”
“Anybody know what this is about? Have the hill-men gone on the rampage? Are we being invaded by the Dark Empire?” Weasel was obviously keen to know, despite his sardonic tone. Through his hangover haze so was Rik. He was keen for anything that would help him block out the memories of the previous evening. His bandaged hands stung. He would need to see a healer when he got back to camp.
“I don’t know,” said the Sergeant. “Rumour has it that hill-men are going nuts and we’re being sent out to stop it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” said the Barbarian.
“And when you can spot that, it really must be true,” said the Sergeant. “Right lads — kiss the girls goodbye. It’s time to get back to business.”
Rik groaned as he picked himself up from the couch. He slipped some coins into Eva’s hand, looked around to see if Rena had noticed, but she was already gone. Although he was not quite sure why, he felt bad about the whole business. Slowly, as his thoughts came back into focus, he realised that he had other problems. If what he had heard in the warehouse last night was true, they all had. The question was, what was he going to do about it?
As they walked through the streets of the Pit, things had an oddly deserted look. Small solace prayer flags still fluttered in the wind. Families still slept in doorways, beggars still coughed and extended their hands for money, but the streets seemed empty after the revels of last night. Occasionally he caught the whiff of gunpowder from the fireworks. As they moved on, he saw Corporal Toby and a few of the other Foragers moving to join them. It looked like they had all been rousted out of whatever nests they had found for themselves.
Rik looked over at Weasel and the Barbarian. The Barbarian looked quite sick, as if he had drunk too much for even his iron constitution. His pupils were shrunk to pinpricks in his pale purple eyes. He chewed the edges of his moustache reflectively. As Rik watched he bent over and slipped something that glinted like gold into the hand of a ragged woman sleeping in a doorway. She had two children as ragged as she under her arms. Weasel was red-eyed and miserable looking. He had probably lost a lot of money gambling last night. Rik slowly edged over towards them. Abruptly, he came to a decision.
“We are in big trouble,” he said quietly through the side of his mouth.
“It’s not that bad,” said Weasel. “They probably only want us to go on patrol again.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean exactly?”
“I found out what was in those books.” Weasel did a double take.
“How did you do that?”
“Never mind.”
Weasel laughed out loud. “You went and stole them back, didn’t you?”